Submitted by Gavin Jefferson on the 2018 winter session program in Italy sponsored by the Department of History…
This week on the study abroad program, we took an excursion to Siena and saw their ornate Duomo, which was much more elaborate than Florence’s, at least the interior. We also explored the Medici Chapel, Palantine Gallery in the Pitti Palace, and the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. The amount of art and beautiful architecture that we have seen has been absolutely surreal and astonishing. The artwork adorning the walls throughout the Pitti Palace really emphasized the power that the Medici family and subsequent rulers of Florence possessed. The power and wealth that the Medici had accrued throughout the Renaissance had always been difficult to visualize in my mind, but now, after seeing a lot of their palaces and churches in person, it makes so much more sense and is even more impressive. Some of us, also, traveled to the top of the Duomo and saw the cityscape of Florence from the top of Brunelleschi’s dome, which was unimaginably beautiful and worth the amount of steps it took to get to the top. We went up both the Duomo and the Campanile, which consisted of taking 1,754 steps combined.
It has been simply incredible spending my time in Florence the past two weeks, but I am also looking forward to experiencing Ferrara, a less tourist infested town.
